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Friday, January 21, 2011

Shakespeare Undead

Shakespeare Undead by Lori Handeland was not what I expected. When I picked up the book I was sure I was in for a dark, gothic tale of the great playwright as a vampire. What I got was a light hearted book that doesn't take itself seriously.

Shakespeare is not only a vampire but he is also a necromancer (he sees dead people) and he can raise armies of zombies. In the past he'd done it for anyone who could pay. Now he's got a quiet new life as an actor and writer. The problem is there are zombies in London. He soon realizes that there is an army of them. While tracking a zombie he comes across a zombie hunter named Kate. He keeps his "condition" secret when he agrees to help her kill zombies.

The book's narration toggles between third person focusing on what Shakespeare is doing and Kate's first person narrative. They are two very distinctive styles so you won't get confused but I'm not sure what it was necessary to write that way. I'm also not sure why it was necessary to add references to, among other things, Star Wars, The Sixth Sense and The Wizard of Oz. Other than being cute I can see no reason for modern references. I found that it pulled me out of the action every time it happened. At times I had to roll my eyes and plunge ahead.

I read this book in a couple of hours. As I put the book down I realized I was disappointed that I didn't get the heavy gothic tale I had been expecting.

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Thanks for the comment. I will read it as soon as I can. Sorry I have to say this but I've wasted a lot of time with SPAM lately. If you are posting a link to a site that is not related to books I will not publish it, I'll mark it as SPAM.